Top 8 Custom Wallpaper Apps iPhone

If there’s one thing that could be seen as part of the foundation of the smartphone’s success, it’s the ability to personalize and customize just about anything in order to make your device more of a reflection of your own personality. Of course, growing up with those early Nokias, things like custom covers and shells have been around for some time, but these days you can customize a lot more of that. One element that seems to be the most changed among users is the phone background or wallpaper, which some users even like to change automatically on a daily basis. There are one or two nice custom wallpaper apps out there, though I’m surprised there aren’t more. The iPhone actually has less of these apps available than Android does, but this seems to fall in line with the general level of customization available with these two platforms. We recently took a bunch of custom wallpaper apps for iPhone out for a spin and came up with a few favorites; check out th list below and then feel free to suggest your own picks in the comments section below!

8. 10,000+ LockScreens (Free)

Rather than a custom wallpaper app that comes with a variety of choices, 10,000+ LockScreens is almost like an active resource that scourse the web in order to find images that suit you. It does this by taking into account your criteria and then looking on Google Images in order to find something that fits. In this sense, this app is perhaps the one that offers more choice than any other wallpaper app. You can then take your chosen wallpaper and add a blur effect to it; there’s also a nice preview function that allows you to see exactly what a wallpaper will look like before downloading or applying it. – Download from iTunes

7. Pimp Your Screen ($2.99)

Pimp Your Screen is less a custom wallpaper app and more a general app to personalize the interface of your iPhone, since along with wallpapers it also gives you access to many lock-screen add ons, overlays, widgets and such. It seems odd that a wallpaper app should offer you a calendar widget for your lockscreen, but then, this is all part of the general interface, is it not? Really, one of the more frustrating things about picking a new wallpaper for you iPhone is when it looks nice on is own but doesn’t suit the buttons or widgets that you have applied; it would be nice to find an app that offered more harmony in these areas. Pimp Your Screen does this, in a sense, since it offers not just wallpapers but themes that come with matching wallpapers and lockscreen graphics. It is also a great pick if you’re into wallpapers with effects, such as those that add outlines to your icons or apparent depth to the background. – Download from iTunes

6. HD Wallpapers Stand (Free)

The new and improve HD Wallpapers Stand app pushes this one into the position of being one of the better custom wallpaper apps out there in terms of choice. The improved interface allows for easier navigation, with the different wallpapers sorted well under different categories tht makes choosing a lot easier. The wallpapers are also updated hourly, so there will always be something to browse for those that like to check every available option before picking! – Download from iTunes

5. Monogram Lite (Free)

There are a load of stylish custom wallpaper apps out there for Android devices, with a range of minimalist designs that offer a clean and simple interface. There are less of these around for the iPhone, but one that does stand out in particular is Monogram Lite, which emphasizes the creative side of designing and choosing a wallpaper for your smartphone. The free version of the app offers around 60 different wallpapers to choose from, which isn’t too many compared to the 10,000+ mentioned above, but it’s all in the quality rather than quantity. The app also allows users to create nice monogram images, which can then be used to make a case, or a piece of jewelry or whatever. By far the best wallpaper app out there for the creative minds among our readers! – Download from iTunes

4. Wallpapers Plus for iOS 8 (Free)

Wallpapers Plus for iOS 8 was one of the first to pop up around the release of Apple’s latest mobile operating system, and I dare say that’s part of the reason for its success. That said, the selection here is really quite impressive: I like that you can search through a range of different categories such as natural shots of plants, landscapes, that kind of thing. It’s a nice way of finding a custom wallpaper that suits your mood, narrowing down your ideas to a bunch of similar options that makes choosing one a whole lot easier. Perhaps the best thing about Wallpapers Plus however is its preview animation which will show you what a selected wallpaper will look like when the parallax effect is enabled on your version of iOS 8. It’s also a great app for choice, since hundreds of new options are added daily. – Download from iTunes

3. Wallax ($1.99)

Wallax has been around for some time, attracting a dedicated audience of fans that like to take advantage of the app’s comprehensive features. The app was actually one of the first to first address that annoying wallpaper layout issue in iOS 7, which perhaps explains where a few of these fans first came from. What I like most about Wallax is the fact that it doesn’t zone in on any particular style of wallpaper such as the minimalist or the blurred. Don’t get me wrong: perhaps the best custom wallpaper apps available for Android are those that provide striking, minimalist options, but I love that Wallax covers both gradients, blurs, patterns, and a whole lot more. So, if you like a solid background or prefer to pick from a gallery of images cut to size, Wallax is an excellent pick. – Download from iTunes

2. Blur ($0.99)

If you’re into the more minimalist custom wallpapers, perhaps the best pick for iPhone users is Blur. As the title suggests, Blur transforms ordinary photos into stunning wallpapers by inviting you to slide your finger across the picture in order to provide the right amount of blur. Blur is also one of the best apps if you’re looking for a stylish wallpaper right now and without having to search through pages and pages of handpicked options. Simply load it up, apply some blur with a single swipe and improve the look of your iPhone! – Download from iTunes

1. Papers.co (Free)

Papers.co is a personal favorite, so I’ve just gone ahead and added it to the top of the list! Part of the reason I love this one is the curated nature of the wallpapers available, not to mention the fact that you can go to their website and have any wallpaper available for download in a range of different formats including very high definition for your desktop computer or laptop. The landscape shots here are particularly stunning; it’s easy to see that someone with an artistic eye is behind the picking of these custom wallpaper apps. If only there were less of celebrities! – Download from iTunes